Call to Closure
by Father Gene
Summary: Mother Jane is juggling a new call and her position as a police chaplain, while Maura struggles with reinventing herself as she steps down from the coroner's office to raise their daughter Alice. A continuation of the storyline started in my other stories A New Call, The Sermon, and The Anniversary to Remember.
1. Chapter 1

Call to Closure

Chapter One

"Ahhhhh! No! No!" Jane thrashed about in the bed, "No! No don't. No!"

Maura turned over and sat up in the bed, and speaking very softly, "Jane, Jane wake up, you're having a nightmare." Maura saw Jane's eyes pop open like two white saucers a look of terror chiseled onto her face as her jaw clenched and fevered sweat streaked her brow. Maura put her arms around Jane and cradled her head in her lap. " It's okay, you're safe in our bedroom, I'm here with you, it's okay." Maura stroked her hair "It's okay, it was just a nightmare Silly, that's all. I'm here, it's okay you're safe, you're in our bedroom, lying in our bed, and I'm stroking your hair as I cradle you on my lap, you're safe now."

Jane clutched Maura's arms, she was disoriented and breathing rapidly. "Maura? I feel like I'm dying. Help me!"

Maura continued to stroke her hair "You just had a nightmare, that's all. You're safe, here in our bedroom."

Jane looked over at Maura "My heart is racing!"

Maura nodded and checked her pulse "Okay, Jane I'm going to stand up and walk over to your nightstand, where you keep your pills and I am going to give you some of your Ativan, it's for your anxiety."

Jane began to relax as the anti-anxiety medication took effect. Maura went back to cradling Jane on her lap and stroking her hair "Are you okay Silly?"

Jane nodded "Yes, thank you, I don't know what happened to me, but oh..." Jane started crying, "Maura, I wet myself."

Maura nodded "Well let's get you cleaned up. I'm going to help you with the shower, and then I'll remake the bed." Maura made sure Jane was safely in the shower before finding a fresh pair of pajamas for her.

Jane was embarrassed and still visibly shaken,as the water from the shower ran down her body. Jane let the tears flow and they mingled with the water to mask her upset. Maura quickly remade the bed and then went to check on Jane. "Jane, are you okay?"

Jane cried "No, I just wet myself like a two-year old." Maura handed her a towel to dry herself and then brought her the pajamas she had found, and helped her back to bed.

"Maura you deserve better than this! I am so sorry, you shouldn't have to take care of me like this, I have no right to ask this of you."

Maura crawled into bed beside her and kissed her on the cheek "Jane I love being able to take care of you, because I love you Silly! And I will always love you, know matter what." Maura smiled as she continued to stroke Jane's hair.

"Maura I know life with me has been hard for you. I'm sorry." Maura snuggled next to her, "There is nothing in the world that I would trade my life with you for. I love you, I love our daughter Alice, who is looking more and more like you every day by the way." Jane laughed and looked over at Maura "Really Maura? I was thinking she looks a lot like her uncle Frankie." Maura smiled " Gee, that's funny because I can really see Tommy every time I look at her nose, but in any case, you can definitely see the Rizzoli in her and that makes me happy, because you make me happy." Maura kissed Jane again "I can't wait to see you teach her how to throw a baseball."

Jane frowned "I think Frankie might have to do that."

Maura looked over at Jane "You're going to show her how to throw a baseball, and you're going to teach her about God."

Jane kissed Maura "Okay, I will, but you're going to handle fashion tips, and makeup, and I pray she has your intelligence and brilliance, so you need to handle that as well."

Maura smiled "Well, that's why it's so important to get Alice into the right nursery school, because I am not sending our daughter to Yale or Princeton, she's bound for Harvard Yard!"

Maura set up her coffee grinder and went through her selection of coffees and she decided on brewing up a pot of Dean's Beans Birdwatcher's Blend a smooth and nutty blend of Guatemalan Huehuetenango and Mexican Chiapas shade-grown coffee. She smiled as she scooped the beans into the grinder, knowing that Jane would be coming downstairs in a moment and they'll begin the normal morning banter about her coffee maker.

Jane heard the coffee grinder and knew that Maura would be putting breakfast out on the table, she fastened her collar and put on her silver Tiffany's cross and headed down to the kitchen.

Maura smiled as Jane walked into the kitchen. "Good morning Silly." Jane smiled as she walked over to give Maura a kiss. "Good morning, Pooka!" Maura glowed as she heard the pet name Jane had given her so long ago. "So Jane, after all these years am I still your mischievous playful sprite?" Jane hugged her and kissed her "Absolutely, just like I am still your Silly Goose."

Jane smiled as she sat down and Maura brought her a cup of coffee. "So what are we drinking this morning?" Maura laughed "Well, this morning we have a shade grown blend of organic Guatemalan Huehuetenango and Mexican Chiapas beans, prepared using a siphon and vacuum brewing method to maximize the release of its smooth and nutty flavors." Jane looked at the coffee, "Why do I feel like I just selected a fine wine at a French restaurant?" Jane took a sip "Mmm, your mad science experiment was definitely successful, this is prime frankencoffee, my good doctor!" Maura smiled "Thank you, I am glad you like it."

Jane smiled as she sipped her coffee, "So am I still driving you in this morning?" Maura nodded "Yes, that is if it's okay with you?

Jane set down her coffee cup "Of course, it's your last day, and I arranged to borrow the Gray Lady from Canon Wells for when I pick you up, and Frankie and Tommy are coming to help with your furniture."

Maura sat down "Jane, exactly how old is that van?" Jane just laughed "That is an official church secret! Though from what I hear some people feel Canon Wells love's that van more than his own wife, and Mrs Wells is actually jealous of it."

Maura sipped some coffee "Really? Gee, does the church even need a van?" Jane shook her head "No, but years ago the church did have an after school program, but the church hasn't actually used the Gray Lady for any church programs in at least a decade. Now it's Canon Wells' lady! He is constantly tinkering with it, fixing it. I don't even know how it ended up being painted gray, I get the impression it was originally white."

Maura smiled, "And he actually let's you drive it?" Jane nodded "I actually have my own key."

Maura stood up and took the coffee cups over to the sink "That is so nice of him to let you use the van, we should invite Canon and Mrs. Wells for dinner one night." Jane nodded "Absolutely. He was so happy for you, on hearing you were actually leaving the coroner's office, that he insisted." Maura smiled "Well I am staying on as a consultant, at least for the next year, but I can work mostly from home. And, Hope has me joining her practice..." Jane laughed "Who said retirement was supposed to be quiet."

Jane looked over at Maura as she finished putting the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher. "Maura, I thought by now you would have asked me about what happened last night. You, know with the nightmare." Maura closed the dishwasher and walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. "Well, I thought it was best to wait until you were ready to talk about it. So are you ready to talk about it?" Jane nodded "It felt like I was being stalked by this shadowy figure. Everywhere I turned there it was. I started to run, and it was chasing me. It felt so real, I still can remember feeling its hot breath on the back of my neck. It was like I was in a maze running down one corridor after another, until I found myself in a forest and I was running through this grove of giant trees and I could see these shadowy figures all around me pursuing me as I ran, like they were hunting me. Finally I was climbing a mountain and I could feel them grabbing for me trying to make me fall, until finally I was cornered at the top of the mountain, and as this figure reached out to grab me, well I jumped, falling into a void. That's when I woke up screaming."

Maura waited a few moments before saying anything "That sounds like it were a really scary dream. When I was in medical school I had to take a couple psychology courses, and I remember our professor talking a little bit about dreams when he discussed the theories of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. According to Freud a dream where you feel like you're being chased is symbolic of avoiding something, of not wanting to face something, and when you come face to face with what's pursuing you, it's something that is unavoidable." Jane took in the words "Well, I am not sure what that can be."

Maura waited a few more moments before speaking again "You used to have bad nightmares all the time after the shooting, but then they seemed to taper off. In fact I really can't remember when the last time you had a nightmare was. Has something happened that may have triggered an episode?" Jane shook her head "No, nothing. Everything is fine, things at church are fine, and it goes without saying things between us are fine, and I'm starting my new position as a police chaplain this week, and that's fine. It's all fine! And, before you ask I'm okay and I'm not planning to jump off the church belfry or anything like that."

Maura laughed "No ones accusing you of thinking you're the flying nun! I was just wondering if something may have been bothering you that could have led to a nightmare, that's all." Maura paused a moment before continuing. "So, you're starting back at BPD this week as a chaplain, you must be excited?"

Jane nodded "Yes, well it's only part-time; in fact I have to stop by the precinct and pick up my ID card and badge and then the uniform store to pick up my dress uniform for the swearing in ceremony. You are still planning on coming aren't you?" Maura reached out and took Jane's hand in hers "Of course Silly, you know I wouldn't miss it. This is quite an accomplishment, seven years after you were shot, you are returning to active duty with the police department. Of course I will be there. It must feel a little daunting to walk into the precinct after all these years?"

Jane thought about it for a minute "Well, its not like I haven't been back, but yeah, to know I am part of the place, not stepping into the squad room as a visitor, it has felt different the last couple times I've been there." Maura looked into Jane's eyes "How so?" Jane thought about it "That place is big, and all consuming, and it feels like you're taking the weight of the world on your shoulders when you are there. When I think about it, I don't want to be consumed that way again. I am consumed with my work at the parish, but I'm happy because it's like being consumed by love, yet when I was a police officer it was the opposite, I was often buried in the depths of mans inhumanity to man. It touches your soul, I know that now. So the thought of walking in to that place, as the light of God's love to a fallen humanity, I wonder how long it will be before my light is extinguished?" Maura nodded "That sounds really scary." Jane nodded "Yeah, scary enough to give a person a nightmare."

Jane and Maura secured Alice's car seat in the back of Jane's Mini Cooper "Jane are you sure you're going to be okay with Alice today?" Jane gave Maura a quick hug "We'll be fine. Won't we Alice? We're going to see your Uncle Frankie, and then we're going to church, and we're going to have so much fun." Jane navigated the short distance to the coroner's office with ease. "I haven't asked you about how you're feeling about this being your last day?" Maura just squeezed Jane's hand "Ask me tonight. I don't think it's fully sank in yet, so ask me tonight, okay." Jane parked the car "Okay, I will."

Jane's phone rang, and she reached down to answer it. "Rizzoli-Isles, yes good morning to you Canon Wells. What? A meeting at the bishop's office? Sure, but I have Alice today. Okay we'll be there." Jane hung up the phone and looked over at Alice "Guess what Alice, you're going to meet the Bishop of Massachusetts this morning, yes you are."


	2. Chapter 2

Call to Closure chapter two

Jane drove through the familiar streets to the diocesan office, which takes up a large office building next to Saint Paul's cathedral. Jane had been there many times, for everything from trainings to committee meetings, but this was a first, being summoned. Jane mused to herself about what the meeting might be about, but none of the ideas she could come up well ended well. Jane rounded the corner and could see Canon Wells car was already there. Jane pulled in behind him and parked her car. Jane reached into the diaper bag that Maura had packed for her and removed the baby wrap. Jane smiled as she looked at it. "Gee Jane maybe you should've paid attention when Maura demonstrated how to put this on?" Jane just shook her head as she scrolled through her phone to the company's website to read through the instructions, as she began wrapping herself with the baby wrap she muttered to herself "Jane, you better stop acting like Frank Rizzoli, Maura deserves a spouse who pays attention to her, instead of belching beer in front of the tv. She prayed "O Blessed Virgin Mary, Holy Queen, and mother of our savior, please pray for me and intercede on my behalf with your son our Lord, that he may strengthen my resolve to be less like my father in my relationship with my wife, but instead to listen to her, engage in the things that interest her and most of all to always respect her. O blessed virgin Mary, Our Lady of Walsingham, please intercede for me. Amen" Jane finished securing Alice in the wrap and took her cane in hand and proceeded into the lobby of the diocesan offices.

Canon Wells was standing in the lobby as Mother Jane walked in with Alice wrapped across her chest, balancing the diaper bag along with her own tote bag. "Good God Mother, you look like you're ready to jump into Normandy with the airborne! You do realize we're meeting with the bishop?" Jane handed the diaper bag to Canon Wells "You knew I had Alice today, and my mother is still in the stroke rehabilitation center, so I don't have a babysitter." Canon Wells just shook his head "Yes, yes, you did say that. Well, come on then, we must not keep him waiting."

Jane couldn't help but notice that Canon Wells seemed nervous as they stepped into the elevator. Canon Wells pushed the button and the doors closed "So Mother, have you read the news this morning?" Jane leaned on her cane and looked over at Canon Wells "What news? I didn't have a chance to look at the news this morning, with it being Maura's last day and all. Oh, Maura and I would like to invite you and Mrs Wells to dinner." The doors opened and they were faced with the entrance to the shop's office suite.

Mother Jane and Canon Wells stepped off the elevator and walked up to the receptionist sitting outside the bishop's office " Good morning, Canon Wells and you must be Mother Rizzoli-Isles, welcome the bishop is waiting for both of you. Please go in."

The receptionist opened the door to the office and announced them as they followed her in. The Bishop stood up and stepped from behind his desk. "Good morning and welcome both of you, and thank you for coming at such short notice. Please be seated." Canon Wells took a seat and Jane adjusted the babywrap so she could cradle Alice in her lap as she sat down. " I'm sorry Bishop Michael, but I couldn't find a sitter at such short notice." Bishop Michael looked over at Jane and leaned back in his chair "She's perfect! Don't apologize Mother, you are exactly what I am looking for. The face of our new 21st century Episcopal Church." Jane looked over at Canon Wells and then both of them looked back at the bishop. " I am assuming you have both seen the news about Christ Church in Roxbury?" Canon Wells nodded "Yes, saw it this morning, a bad bit of business it is."

Jane looked confused " I'm sorry but I missed the news this morning, what happened with Christ Church?" Bishop Michael looked over at Canon's new Wells then back at Jane. "They've voted to leave the Episcopal Church and have joined one a continuing Anglican Church. I'm surprised you didn't see it, that hot head, Donald Values, the voice of conservative Anglicanism, he had the story on his news site before the votes were counted." Jane knew this was not the first time a parish, or even a group of parishes had voted to leave the Episcopal Church, but this was the first time it happened in Boston.

The bishop continued "The average attendance for Christ Church on Sunday morning was 200. It appears the vote in favor of leaving was 163 to 18 with 12 abstentions. So now as of this morning, we have taken legal action to retain control of the parish buildings, and we are reaching out to the parishioners to see who wishes to remain in the Episcopal Church. Which brings me to the next order of business, appointment of an interim priest in-charge for Christ Church." The bishop picked up his pen and signed a letter that had been sitting on his desk " Congratulations Mother Jane, you are now the interim priest in-charge for Christ Church, for the next year with the possibility of extension for another year beyond the original term of call."

Canon Wells was shocked "Bishop Michael, Jane hasn't even finished her curatage, and now you're planning to throw her to the wolves! A seasoned priest, with years of parish leadership experience would find the task of saving Christ Church to be a daunting matter, and you want to send a priest who has never been in a leadership position? Let alone the personal attacks you're setting her up for..." Jane interrupted "Personal attacks? What do you mean, personal attacks?"

The bishop nodded "Christ Church, is one of our few remaining evangelical parishes, and they are conservative in their theology, oppose the ordination of women, are against the church's position on same-sex marriages, and GLBT clergy. Yet, it is my position that if we are to save this parish it must be incorporated back into the mainstream of the church. So I want to send them a priest who is the face of our new 21st century Episcopal Church!"

Jane looked over at Canon Wells "Am I missing something? They're going to hate me! Like really hate me, and I don't just mean in a metaphorical sense, I mean in a want to hurt me way!"

Canon Wells nodded "Michael, don't do this, you're setting her up for failure. If you need to send someone, send me."

Michael shook his head and stood up and stepped around his desk "No, I've made my decision, Mother Jane is my choice for Christ Church. So, good luck Mother, and if you need anything going forward, please contact my office."

As Jane stepped out into the reception area the bishop's secretary was standing there with a large box of files "This is everything we have on Christ Church. Good luck Mother." Canon Wells took the box for Jane who was still trying to reposition Alice in her baby wrap "Come on Mother, I don't know about you, but I need a drink!" The bishop stepped out of his office "I don't know how this Donald Values guy does it? Look at this [Breaking News! Lipstick Lesbian to head Christ Church.] I swear he must have my office bugged." Jane looked at Canon Wells with a look of horror on her face, as the headline with a file picture of her, glared out at her from the bishop's tablet. Canon Wells nudged her and motioned Jane towards the elevator doors, then stopped and turned "Michael if Jane gets hurt I'm holding you personally responsible." The elevator doors opened and Jane tugged on Canon Wells sleeve to get him to step on the elevator with her.

Jane was driving the short distance back towards the police precinct when she decided to call Maura and tell her about her meeting with the bishop. Maura continued to put the things from her desk into the various boxes she had labeled and positioned strategically around the room. "Well Jane, I don't see how this Donald Values gentleman can be considered a great reporter, I mean there's no way you're a lipstick lesbian, you don't even own any lipstick." Jane turned down a side street "Maura that's not the point. This guy is going to fire up a mob." Maura smiled as she put some more stuff into her boxes "Jane didn't you just tell me that the hot heads walked out? So, there's going to be a handful of people who show up, who didn't join the walkout and hopefully they will stay, and if not then you call the bishop and tell him to close the parish and send you back to Saint Andrew's. Still, lipstick lesbian, whatever could be be thinking, I mean Jane, I'll agree that you don't fit the classic type for a butch, but ..." Jane smiled "Goodbye Maura, I love you!" Jane parked her car and put Alice back in her baby wrap. Time to pickup her police ID and badge.


	3. Chapter 3

Call to Closure chapter three

Frankie Rizzoli was sitting at his desk in the squad room when he heard a familiar voice saying. "Hey Frankie, guess what I got?"

Frankie stopped what he was doing and looked up and spying Jane he smiled "What's this? My darling little princess has come to visit her Uncle Frankie at work?" Frankie couldn't himself, Jane standing there carrying Alice was just to cute, so he picked up his phone and quickly snapped a picture. "Frankie, what are you doing?"

Frankie smiled as he typed a quick note before forwarding the picture. "Oh, this is to good! You look so cute, Ma is going to love this." Jane's face flashed with a look of horror as she realized what Frankie was about to do. "No! You can't send Ma a cute picture, I'll never live it down!"

Frankie smiled and shook his head "Janie this picture is pure gold! I will be so in with Ma if I send her this picture..." Frankie glanced down at it and laughed "Oh with this..." and he pushed the button. Jane snatched the phone out of his hand hoping she could still stop it, but it was to late, the picture had been sent. Jane looked down at the phone "Wait a minute! Frankie, not funny, pulling my leg like this! You sent the picture to Maura, not Ma." Jane handed the phone back to Frankie who smiled as the tweet came through "Yep, I sent it to Maura, who just forwarded it to Ma. Let's face it kid you're cute enough to be tweetable." Jane slapped her forehead "Ugh!"

Jane sat down, "Can you hold your niece for a little bit? She's starting to hurt my back." Frankie reached out for Alice as Jane undid the baby wrap. "I don't see how Maura does it? She runs all over with Alice in this wrap and it doesn't seem to even phase her while I feel like I just spent two hours at the gym." Frankie was playing with his niece "Well Maura's spine wasn't put back together like a jigsaw puzzle."

Jane smiled "So Frankie, guess what I got?" Frankie looked up from Alice "Okay Janie, what do you got?" Jane reached into her purse and took out the leather wallet that contained her badge and Boston Police Identification Card "look!" Frankie looked and smiled "Hey that's great, they gave you your badge, congratulations!" Jane smiled, "No, look closer." Frankie looked again "Oh, they issued your discount card for the coffee kiosk. Really nice Janie, really nice." Jane continued to smile "Yep!"

Frankie smiled as he stood up "Hey lieutenant, the new chaplain has her canteen card!"

"Oh, is that right Rizzoli, well tell the chaplain I'll have a Café Latte Grande with two percent milk, How about you Harris?" The other officer looked up from what he was doing "Oh I don't know Lieutenant, ah just make mine a Cappuccino with soy milk. I have to watch out for my acid reflux." The Lieutenant just shook his head "Watson?" Jane heard the voice of detective Watson from back by the file cabinets "Make mine a flat white!" The Lieutenant nodded "You got it!, How about you Ramirez? " Ramirez could hardly keep from laughing as he ordered up a café Mocha. "Well that just leaves you Frankie, are you getting your usual? Frankie looked over at Jane "You remember my usual? A Café Americano. I hope you got all that? And, get something for yourself why you're down there Newbie!"

Jane smiled, she was looking forward to this longstanding welcome ritual for days, it was a rite of passage in the squad room. "Frankie, can you keep an eye on Alice?" Frankie sat back down, "She'll be fine, now get going, I have a sudden urge for some coffee." Jane smiled as she headed for the elevator that would take her to the lobby and the coffee kiosk. She was back, and at least for now her anxiety about being back was being held at bay.

"Rizzoli can I see you in my office for a minute?" Frankie stood up and walked over to the Lieutenant's office. "You need something Lieutenant?" The Lieutenant was about to say something about the baby in Frankie's arms but decided to skip it. "The Cold Case files I had you review, did anything new pop up?" Frankie sat down "Nothing that will help us put a name or face to our shooter. Are you sure about the ballistics match?" The Lieutenant slipped a file from his top desk drawer. "See for yourself. I had the tests redone, just to be sure. It is a match for the weapon used to shoot Jane, and the DNA evidence recovered matches samples recovered at the crime scene seven years ago." Frankie shook his head "That can't be, we got the guy and recovered the weapon..." The Lieutenant interrupted "You got a guy, and it's clear he was involved, maybe he was the shooter, I don't know, but it's clear there is someone else out there, and he was involved. " Frankie looked down at the file again "The shooter was a pro, and snipers work with a spotter, so maybe it was a two man team. Yet, I can't see us missing this!" The lieutenant leaned back in his chair "I don't like this anymore then you do. I want you to see if the rifle we recovered seven years ago is still in evidence; and if not, find out what happened to it. If it was melted down, I want proof." Frankie nodded "If it's still there, should I have it pulled back?" The Lieutenant leaned forward and looked right at Frankie "No, you go get it yourself, and don't tell anyone what you're doing. I'll arrange to get it retested offsite."

The Lieutenant took the file back and placed it in his desk "Frankie, you remember what it was like; we were in the middle of an all out mob war. Gangsters were dropping like flies! We'd get a tip and the next thing you know are suspect was being fished out of the Charles River. That's why Jane's case is still considered a cold case, we didn't really solve it, it's just that everyone involved ended up dead. At least until now." Frankie thought long and hard before speaking "Are you going to tell Jane?" The Lieutenant nodded "I don't think I have any choice. She's possibly my only living link to the shooter." At that moment they heard Jane out in the squad room "Then, Lieutenant, let me tell her." The lieutenant nodded in agreement as Jane walked in with the drinks. "Take care of that Rizzoli, and we'll regroup later." The Lieutenant took a sip of his latte, "Thanks padre, and welcome back."

Frankie walked Jane and Alice back to Jane's car "Now Frankie, you're not going to forget?" Frankie just smiled "Forget what?" Jane playfully slapped her brother "You know this is Maura's last day at the coroner's office." Frankie just laughed "Relax Janie, it's all set, Tommy is meeting me and we'll both be there at four, while Nina picks up the cake and brings it over to the Robber." Jane hugged her brother "Thanks Frankie, I know I can always count on you."


End file.
